This invention relates generally to computer accessories, and more particularly to accessories adapted for use with digital personal assistant docking station devices.
In the prior art, digital still cameras have been adapted to work with workstations, personal computers, and even lap-top devices.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,708,853, Sanemitsu describes a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) card that includes an image input device. The card can be inserted into an PCMCIA slot of a lap-top computer. In one configuration, holes are formed in the casing of the lap-top so that an image input device can acquire a picture. The card requires that the computer device is equipped with PCMCIA xe2x80x9cslotxe2x80x9d and mounting frame.
There are a number of problems with this configuration. First, the PCMCIA standard requires that the dimensions of the slot be about 9xc3x976xc3x971.5 cm. For many modern PDA""s, such as a PalmPilot (12xc3x978xc3x971.5), the slot and frame would consume nearly the entire interior of the PDA. In such applications, the card according to Sanemitsu would be totally unworkable. More recent PDA are even smaller than the PCMCIA card.
Second, the PCMCIA card has two connectors, front and back. The back 64 pins interface to the computer, and the front pins, which vary depending on the communications interface, need to be connected to some type of transmission controller connected to a communications line. Sanemitsu suggests an ISDN telephone line. This is a severe limitation making the device totally useless in most PDA type of environments where a communications line is not always available. In combination, the size of the PCMCIA card and the requirement for connection to a communication line make this solution completely impractical for modern mobile personal digital assistants.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,948,086 Lin describes an electronic still camera that is adapted for use with a portable computer that is equipped with a housing for receiving a removable and rechargeable battery pack. This arrangement also has a number of problems similar to Sanemitsu""s camera. First, the size of a rechargeable battery pack overwhelms any modern PDA. Second, this camera presumes that the device is equipped with a removable battery. This is not the case with most PDAs, which are powered by disposable batteries.
In other configurations, the camera is loosely tethered to the PDA. This presents an ergonomic problem since it is awkward to handle both the PDA and camera at the same time.
Therefore, it is desired to provide a camera system that can be used with a PDA in a rigid and ergonomic manner.
As a second characteristic, prior art cameras only acquire still or moving images. Other than controlling exposure, there is very little control of how the images are acquired. Therefore, there is a need for a camera that can be used with a PDA so that the PDA can control higher level camera functions, such as image enhancement, x-y projections, resolution, and the like.
The invention provides a docking station that is adapted to operate with a personal digital assistant. The docking station includes an image sensor configured to acquire images, a sensor microprocessor coupled to the sensor, a vision microprocessor coupled to the sensor microprocessor and an instruction memory and a data memory, a communication interface coupled to the vision microprocessor, and configured to interface with a digital personal assistant and a computer system interface and a power supply.
A housing of the docking station encloses the image sensor, the sensor microprocessor, the vision microprocessor and memories, the communications interface, and a power supply. During operation, a personal digital assistant is physically and electronically coupling to a top oblique surface of the housing.